Around a year ago, H&M announced its collaboration with Glenn Martens, and now the Swedish fashion chain and the Belgian designer are giving first insights into the soon-to-be-released collection.
“I firmly believe that this is one of the most creative collaborations we have ever done,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M. “Glenn is a true talent and radical thinker, and these extraordinary designs play on archetypes and the essence of what it means to get dressed every day.”
From the Archives of Individualism
Martens, who delved deeply into the Belgian brand’s heritage for his debut as creative director of Maison Margiela in the middle of the year, is also using the H&M archive as a starting point for the capsule, H&M announced on Friday. This is processed in the form of women’s and men’s clothing as well as accessories in the Martens style.
The collection is a homage to individuality and personal style, in which everyday pieces experience a touch of avant-garde. The do-it-yourself character and customization options allow wearers to adapt the silhouettes and create their own look. This is ensured, among other things, by hooks and eyelets on dresses and jeans, which of course cannot be missing from the head designer of the denim brand Diesel.
“I see this collection as a large family of garments, all of which have multiple uses and personalities: like people, they grow and change every day,” said Martens. “I have always been interested in clothes that we really wear in everyday life, and the idea of archetypes and basics was the starting point for this very special and joyful project with H&M.”
Trompe l’œil effects run through the entire collection. A long-sleeved shirt shows a knitted top and a body-hugging dress shows a checked evening dress. The pieces shown, which were printed on the dress and top, come from Martens’ archive. As for accessories, the effect is used on a silk scarf that features vintage necklaces. The designer also uses H&M’s best-selling velvet skirt and accessorizes it with a kilt.
Martens’ Highlands
In addition to rock, Martens’ interest in British humor and street style that breaks out of the norm is also evident in many other pieces, the statement says. In addition to checks and tartan, the print of a Scottish castle is also part of the collection, which can be seen on hoodies, among other things.
Of course, his play with silhouettes is also expressed in this collection. Cargo pants and over-the-knee boots – like those seen in the Parisian brand Y/Project that made Martens famous – are given extra volume, while material innovations and techniques like foil lining, used in pieces like bomber jackets, blazers and a trench coat, offer additional possibilities for deformation. With an oversized quilted jack, a wire is also used to give the model new dimensions. All of these elements are also combined for different bags, which also allows the shape to be individually adjusted.
In addition to the must-have accessories – boots and bags – the range also includes a belt without holes that is intended for draping on the body, sunglasses that look like two glasses frames, and a checked scarf with a hood. For men, there are also classic H&M basics like underwear and socks five-packs with “Glenn Martens” branding, as well as steel-toe workwear boots with adjustable leather uppers that can be removed with snap fasteners.
The boxer shorts, which he also wore at the press presentation, as he briefly showed by pulling the elastic band with his own name out from under the pants, are said to have already found a permanent place in his own wardrobe. They would make it easier for him to distinguish his underwear from his partner’s, the designer joked.
H&M x Glenn Martens
It’s the first time for the designer to create under his own name and not as creative director for Margiela, Diesel or Y/Project. The latter brand in particular plays a special role in the collaboration with H&M, says Martens in the press conference before the launch.
So at the beginning, when Johansson and Martens initiated the collaboration around two years ago and the designer was still in charge of creative management at Y/Project, it wasn’t supposed to be about the brand, but about him. After the label ended, the designer opened up to incorporating his Y/Project design language into the collaboration in order to celebrate it and, in contrast to the designer brand’s higher-priced pieces, also make it more accessible without losing its value, says Martens.
His time at Y/Project was also when he first landed on the H&M team’s radar, long before Diesel and Margiela, says Johansson. But Marten’s own story goes far beyond that.
When he was a teenager growing up in Bruges, Belgium, in the 1990s, there wasn’t much in this direction until H&M opened its first store, he said in a press interview. He loved the clothing from the fashion chain store, which was still “poorly secured” at the time, and so he occasionally pocketed products to give as gifts to friends. Today, he has come full circle by simply choosing what he wants – this time from his own collection and in consultation with H&M – to give his loved ones this Christmas.
Consumers can purchase the collaboration online and in H&M stores worldwide starting October 30th.